1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a kit for a bus bar system for connecting bus bars with the connectors of an electric installation device.
2. Description of Related Art
In the field of switchgear cabinet production, connecting rails, which are bent from a flat material and/or beveled and which must be particularly matched to the installation locations of these elements, are used for connecting bus bars of the bus bar system with the connectors of the installation device. To worsen matters, the bus bars and the connectors of the installation device are arranged in planes which extend perpendicular with respect to each other and, depending on the installation possibilities in the switchgear cabinet, their planes can be differently offset horizontally and vertically with respect to each other. Further problems arise when it is necessary to transmit particularly high currents via the connections. This requires large cross sections of the connecting rails, which often can only be matched to the installation situation at the site after the bus bars and the installation devices are installed.
It is one object of this invention to provide a kit for a bus bar system of the type mentioned above but with which even connecting rails for high currents can be combined, which can be adapted to different current strengths and different installation situations.
In accordance with this invention, this object is achieved with a kit that includes connecting elbows, flat rail sections and Z-shaped angle cleats made from a flat material of uniform cross section. The connecting elbows have connecting legs and junction legs, which can be connected with the bus bar, wherein in an installed position of the connecting elbow the connecting legs rest on top of each other and the junction legs are at a distance from each other, which corresponds to the thickness of the flat material. In the installed position of the angle cleat sets of a junction leg the Z-shaped angle cleats have a distance from each other, which corresponds to a thickness of the flat material.
Here, the connection can be made, depending on the current strength, by one or several connecting elbows, flat rail sections and/or Z-shaped angle cleats. In one embodiment, the kit comprises an equal number of connecting elbows, flat rail sections and/or Z-shaped angle cleats.
It is possible with the connecting elbows, flat rail sections and/or Z-shaped angle cleats to take the installation planes of the bus bars and the connectors of the installation device into account without the use of specially produced connecting rails for the connections. It is within the scope of this invention to use differently embodied connecting elbows in place of the flat rail sections and/or the Z-shaped angle cleats, or to make available flat rail sections of different lengths and/or Z-shaped angle cleats with center legs of different length.
These variations can be employed in particular if, in connection with a multi-phase bus bar system the connecting elbows for a bus bar system with several, spaced apart bus bars have connecting legs of different lengths matched to the distance between the bus bars and with connecting bores associated with the bus bars. The supply of different connecting elbows in the kit can be avoided because with bus bar systems having several spaced apart bus bars, for connecting each bus bar, uniform connecting elbows are used, with connecting legs that extend transversely over all bus bars and have associated connecting bores in the area of each bus bar. However, the connecting legs of a connecting elbow set can be connected with the associated bus bar via insulating pieces, which receive a contact bow only in the area of the associated bus bar, which makes the electrical connection between the bus bar and the connecting elbow set.
The individual parts of a connection between a bus bar and a connector of an installation device can be simply connected with each other because the connecting legs of the connecting elbow sets of the flat rail sections and the junction legs of the angle cleat sets have fastening bores, which are matched to each other.
In one embodiment, the angle cleat sets uniformly have Z-shaped angle cleats, with a center leg having additional connecting receivers for fixing the angle cleat which is set in place in the installed position, and the Z-shaped angle cleats selected for a connection can be combined into a fixed angle cleat set, in which the junction legs maintain a defined position.
If the installation device has a flat junction contact, it can be connected with a good electrical contact with the spaced apart junction legs of a connection elbow set or an angle cleat set because contact plates have unused distances between the angle cleats of the angle cleat set, whose thickness corresponds to the thickness of the flat material and which can be connected with the junction legs. The flat junction contact of the installation device is in flat contact with all connecting legs.